Trough supporting means



Oct. 23, 1945.- c; YD

'TROUGH SUPPORTINGKMEANS I '2. Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb; 29, 1940 manila m ATTORNEY I Oct. 23, 1945. c. P. BOYD 2,387,241 I Q TROUGH SUPPORTING MEANS Filed Feb. 29, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Efjui AT TOBNEY Patented Oct. 23, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TROUGH SUPPORTING. S 7 Charles P. Boyd, Kennett Square, Pa.

ApplicationFebruary 29, 1940, Serial No. 321,535

3 Claims.

My invention relates to trough supporting means and it relates more particularly to means for supporting troughs, such as eaves troughs which are subject to intermittent light and heavy loads and extreme variations in stresses and strains due to vagaries of the weather.

In the construction and assembly of eaves troughs, because of the cantilever construction of the trough and support assembly, it is essential that the lightest material be used. Yet the trough must b so mounted despite its lightweight and cantiliver construction as to enable it to carry relatively heavy loads, as for instance, when it is filled with rain-soaked leaves and other debris,.or

when it is filled with ice. This problem becomes particularly acute in view of the varying stresses and strains to which the trough and its supporting means are subjected due to their exposure to strong Winds and the eddy currentsinduced thereby, the expansion'of ice within the trough acting against the tendency of the trough and its supports to contract due to cold, and the expansion and contraction due to vagaries of weather temperature.

Moreover, drainage of various elements together with the presence of air and water results in the corrosion of the trough and its supporting structure, thereby tending in time to weaken the trou h and its supporting structure, and increasing the importance that destructive stresses and strains therein be reduced to a minimum. I

In the past, various attempts have been made to solve these problems inherent in the troughsupport assembly. Thus, sheet metal supports have been used, but have been generally undesirable due to their lack of strength and stability. Cast metal supports have been used buthave been found too rigid and apt to crack under varying strains and stresses with respect to the trough,

moreover, they have been too'expensive. More recently, attempts have been made to use supports made of channel metal which is not as apt to crack under-strain as the cast metal, and the cost of the raw material of which isless expensive. However, the channel metal supports of the prior art relied for their supporting. sections upon unduly distortedor fatigued portions of the metal, thereby materially weakening the support. Moreover, the type of distortion hitherto in use is of an expensive nature, and tendsv materially to increase. the price of the support until there is not much, if any, diiference in cost between the channel metal support and the expensive cast metal support.

It is an object of my invention, therefore, to

provide a supporting means for a trough, which shall be of maximum strength and durability, and wherein the effect of stresses and. strains imposed by the weather andv the varying demands upon the strength of the trough and its supports, in. use, shall be minimized.

It is another object of my invention to providemeans for securing the trough to the supporting structure whereby the varying strains, normally imposed in use, of one with respect to the other, will be absorbed while inhibiting fatigue or undue stress of the securing means, operably to ensure a longer life to the whole structure.

A further object of my invention is to provide a trough supporting means which shall be inexpensive to make and. very easy and quick to assemble and, disassemble, as well as efficient in operation.

With the above and other objects in View, my invention consists of a trough supporting means comprising a channeled metal beam or similar structure comprising spaced parallel flanges having a web disposed therebetween; means for securing, said beam to a structure; a trough supporting arm comprising a channeled metal bar having parallel flanges and a web disposed therebetween; sa-id bar having a. shank formed at one end, a recess formed at the other end, and. a

bed disposed: therebetween; said shank end comprising a limiting stop adapted to abut against one edge of a, trough; means for interlocking at least one flange of said beam with at least one. flange of said bar operative to prevent displacement of said bar in a downward direction about the shank end as a pivot, and means for retaining. said flanges in interlocked condition.

My invention also consists of the combination of. the trough supporting means hitherto described, with a preformed, resilient, trough-securing means comprising a base member, a" plurality of spaced hooks adapted to embrace a beaded edge of a trough disposed in said bed with the opposed edge of said trough abutting against said limiting stop, each hookhaving extended from one end thereof, and at a substantial angle thereto, a spacer member, said spacer member and said hook lying substantially within one plane, a base disposed between said spacer members and spaced from. said hooks, and curved connecting arms extending from the ends of said hooks opposed to the spacer member ends thereof and adapted to engagethe recessed end of said trough-supportin arm.

My invention further consists of a trough securing means comprising'spaced hooks adapted to embrace a trough bead, a handle member disposed between said hooks and spaced therefrom by legs projecting from said hooks, each of said legs projecting from one of saidhooksin a manner to form a curved node at the juncture thereof; and connecting means projecting from said hooks and adapted resiliently to connect said hooks with a trough supporting; arm. or circle,

said; nodes being adapted to interlock: with, and,

invention is not limited to the precise arrange- I ments and organizations of the instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Referring to the drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 represents a side elevational view of a trough and trough supporting means embody ing my invention. i

Figure 2 represents an opposed side elevational view of a trough supporting means embodying my invention.

Figure 3 represents a rear elevational view of a circle embodying my invention.

Figure 4 represents a perspective view of a trough-securing clip embodying m invention.

Figure 5 represents a frontelevational view showing one manner of assembling the trough and trough supporting means embodying my invention.

Figure 6 represents a front elevational view illustrating the first stage of a modified method of assembling the trough and trough supporting means embodying my invention.

Figure '7 represents a side elevational view of the stage of assembly illustrated in Figure 6.

Figure 8 represents a front elevational view illustrating the second stage of the modified method of assembling illustrated in Figure 6.

Figure 9 represents a side elevational view of the stage of assembly illustrated in Figure 8.

According to my invention, I provide a beam or shank 28, preferably formed of channeled metal comprisin spaced parallel flanges 2| and 2 2 projecting from one face of a web 23, and defining a channel 24. The beam 20 is secured, in a preferably substantially vertical position, to a building adjacent or just below the roof thereof, by any suitable means such as the screws 25, with the web 23 disposed substantially perpendicular to the side wall of the building.

A trough securing'arm or circle 26 is provided, and preferably formed of channel metal of substantially the same cross-sectional size and shape as those of the beam 20, with an inner flange 21, an outer flange 28 spaced therefrom, and an intermediate web 29, defining a channel 30. The circle 26 is curved in the plane of its web 29 to form a shank end 3!, a recessed end 32 and a trough receiving bed 33 therebetween. The curvature of the circle is such as to conform generally to that of a trough 34 having a straight edge 35 and a beaded edge 36.

The shank SI of the circle 26 is preferably uncurved, but comprises instead a straight innerfiange portion 3'! adjacent the uncurved web portion 38. The outer flange opposite the straight inner flange portion 31 is swaged outwardly until it is flush with the channel face 39 of the web 38, operatively to broaden the width of the shank to an additional width equal to the width of the flange 21.

A channel 40 is swaged downwardly through the outer flange 28 with the forward wall 4! thereof substantially coplanar with the rearward face 42 of the straight inner flange portion 31, the bed thereof coplanar with the channel face 39 of the web 29, and the rearward wall 43 thereof spaced from the forward wall M a distance equal to the thickness of the base of the flange 21 of the beam or shank 20.

The forward half of the web 38 projects upwardly above the upper edge of the straight inner flange portion 31 of the circle, and is curved forwardly and then downwardly to form a hook 44 having an abutting edge or limiting stop 45 adapted tobear against the straight edge 35 of the trough 34. The rearward portion 46 of the base of the hook 44 is swaged to form a head or node 41 projecting in the same direction as the flange 31, and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the thickness of the base of the flange 2| of the beam or shank 20.

Equally spaced height adjustment orifices 48 are centrally disposed in the web 23 of the beam or shank 29 and extend asubstantial distance therealong. Similar orifices 49 are disposed in the web 38 of the circle 26 along an axis spaced from the inner wall 42 of the flange 31 a distance equal to the distance between the outer wall 50 and the axis of the orifice 48 of the beam 20, and are spaced from each other in a manner to permit a Vernier adjustment between the height of the circle 26 and that of the beam 20 when the two are assembled. Thus, when four orifices 49 are used on the circle 26 and spaced with respect to the orifices 48 of the beam 20 in the ratio of five to four, and the beam orifices 48 are spaced one-half inch apart, Vernier adjustment may be made of one-eighth inch intervals.

The recessed end 32 of the cifcle 25 terminates a short distance below the head 36, and com prise a recess 5! out rearwardly and upwardly through the outer flange 28 and the web 29 of the circle 25, operably to form a hook 52 adapted to interlock with a trough-securing means such as the clip 53. V

The clip 53 is preferably formed of one piece of resilient spring wire, and comprises a base or handle member 54 having extending in one direction from the ends thereof, and preferably perpendicular thereto, parallel legs 55 and 56 serving also as spacer members. Spaced, parallel bead-embracing hooks or clamps 51 and 58 are respectively joined at one end thereof, to the spacer members 55 and 58 by downwardly pro jecting, curved nodes 59 and 69 respectively; said spacer members being preferably at substantially right angles to their respective hooks, and the leg 55, node 59 and hook or clamp 51 being preferably coplanar, and the opposed leg 58, node 30, and clamp 58, being similarly coplanar.

Substantially co-radially curved, coplanar connecting members or arms 6! and 62, overlapping at a portion of their respective arcs, are connected at their respective ends, opposed to the overlapping ends thereof, to the clamps 51 and 58; the plane of said arms 6! and 52 being preferably perpendicular to either of said leg, node and hook planes. The center of the arc of the cooperating arms El and 62 is preferably disposed along the median plane between the hooks 51 and,

58 and between the axis of curvature of said hooks and the periphery defined by the legs 63 and 64 thereof adjacent the respective nodes 59 and 60.

c It will be understood that although the clip 53 may be made of materials other than spring wire, it is preferred that it be made of spring wire of circular cross-section and that the component parts of the clip be integral and joined by curved junctures.

In operation, the circle 25 is mounted on the beam or shank 25 with the flanges 3! and 28 of one directed toward the flanges 2| and 22 of the other. The rearward face 42 of the straight flange 3'! of the circle 20 is brought to bear against the forward face 50 of the beam flange 2i, and the extended portion of the web 33 is brought to bear against the rearward beam flange 22.

In this position, the forward beam flange 2! extends through the channel 50 and is snugly embraced by the walls M and 43 thereof. Spaced a substantial distance from the channel portion 40, the flange 22 is again embraced by the bead or node 41 of the circle web 38, in one direction, and by the extended flange 3'! in the opposed direction. The circle is slid along the beam until the proper orifices are in registry for defining the desired height of the circle, and a bolt 65 is passed therethrough and secured in place by any suitable nut 66. The bolt and nut serve to maintain the desired height of the circle and to retain the circle and beam in interlocked condition. strains however are sustained primarily not by the bolt, but by the interlocked flanges, which prevent downward rotation of the circle, and thus the tendency of the bolt to shear is minimized.

The trough 34 is thereafter mounted in the circle 26 with the straightedge 35 abutting the lower edge 45 of the hook 4 1, and with the bead 36, in general registry with the recessed end 32 of the circle. The connecting arms 6! and 52 of the clip 53 are slid into the recess SI of the end 32 of the circle 26, with the nodes 59 and 60 resting on the bead 36. The hooks or clamps 5! and 58 are then brought into interlocked engagement with the bead 36 by urging them upwardly and rearwardly against the resilient tension of the connecting arms 6| and 62, as more clearly shown in Figure 5.

However, where the spring tension is great, as when the distance between the bead and the recess is long, I prefer to assemble the clip, circle and bead in the following manner: The clip in the recess 5| is tilted while light rearward pressure is brought to bear on one hook, such as the hook 57, until the node 59 is initially interlocked with the upper periphery of the bead 36, as more clearly shown in Figures 6 and 7. Continued light upward and rearward pressure is exerted against the hook 51, in order to maintain the node 55 in interlocked condition with the bead 35, while stronger upward and rearward pressure is exerted against the hook 58 until the node 60 is interlocked with the upper periphery of the bead 38. In this position, the node 59 is now interlocked with the rearward portion of the bead 36, all as more clearly shown in Figures 8 and 9. But slight pressure is now required against the hook 58 to cause the node 60 to pass over the crest of the bead 36, and to permit the tension of the connecting arms 61 and 62 to cause the nodes and hooks to slip into place, snugly to embrace the bead 36. It will be noted in this procedure that a considerable portion of the tension of the connecting arms is borne by the rounded nodes cooperating with the bead, thereby requiring but little pressure on the part of the operator to bring the clip into snugly interlocking engagement with the trough bead.

It will be noted further that the base of the The cantilever stresses and g clip being disposed posterior of the bead, where no variation in position occurs once the trough and support are assembled and in use, and the overlapping curved arms being disposed in the recess, the clip is in a position constantly and resiliently to take up all variation in distance between the bead and the recess, due to the inability of the Vernier adjustment of the orifices 48 and 49 to provide for all possible variation in heights, and the vagaries of the weather, temperature, Wind, etc. Moreover, the curvature of the arms about the center hereinbefore described results in a constant presentation to the hooked recess 5| of oppositely hooked arms GI and 62, regardless of the tension or the distance between the recess 5| and the bead 35. Furthermore, the construction of the clip is such that strains and stresses are substantially evenly distributed throughout with a minimum of twisting stress or torque. Thus, the clip act constantly to absorb stresses and strains of the trough relative to the circle, yet such stresses and strains are so evenlyabsorbed by the clip as to minimize the possibility of crystallization and fatigue; thereby assuring a longer life to the entire structure.

When it is desired to remove the clip, it is but necessary to pull forwardly and upwardly on the handle member or base 65, whereupon the hooks 51 and 58 rise until their nodes 59 and 60 ride upon and over the bead 36 until the clip is disengaged therefrom.

The circle and beam may be made of any desired material such as iron, copper, mild channel steel, etc.

. I am aware that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from th spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiments to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A trough securing clip comprising spaced hooks, each hook having extending from one end thereof and at a substantial angle thereto, a spacer member, said spacer member and said hook lying substantially within one plane, a base disposed between said spacer members and spaced from said hooks, and curved connecting arms extending from the ends of said hooks opposed to the spacer member ends thereof and adapted to engage a trough supporting arm.

2. A trough securing clip comprising spaced hooks adapted to embrace a trough bead, a handle member having a leg and disposed between said hooks and spaced from one of said hooks by means of said leg, a curved node formed at the juncture of said leg and said hook; and connecting means adapted resiliently to secure a trough supporting arm to one of said hooks; said node being adapted to interlock with, and ride over said bead.

3. A trough securing clip comprising, spaced hooks, a base member disposed between said hooks, a spacer member disposed intermediate said base member and one of said hooks, and connecting arms extending from said hooks and adapted to engage a trough supporting arm.

CHARLES P. BOYD. 

